Unlike a real football game where the final score is uncertain, The Game Plan is all about delivering a predictable outcome. It's the perfect film for someone who wants a formula film that never strays from the playbook. The formula here involves a single, self-absorbed star quarterback whose life is thrown into chaos when he suddenly discovers he has a daughter that he needs to look after for a month. This formula requires a humorously obnoxious man who will prove to have a heart of gold; an adorable and too-smart-for-her-own-good munchkin; a lovable pet; and a smart woman who will help the guy see the error of his ways. And since this is a football film, the team will also have to be won over by the kid so we'll need one dumb-but-lovable jock, one big scary player who turns out to be a softie, a few goofball partiers, and then maybe a kinds smart guy just to prove that not all football players suffer from low IQs.
Directed by Andy Fickman, The Game Plan has all this and gives you exactly what you'd expect -- and without much inspiration. Fickman fared better with his revisionist Shakespeare flick She's the Man, where at least he showed a spark of innovation in his comic antics. In The Game Plan, he and a trio of female writers concoct the most predictable gags ranging from the dog getting put in a tutu to an overflowing bubble bath. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays quarterback Joe Kingman, and the only surprise may be that he survives the film as well as he does. Despite the stupidity of the script, he remains likable. The former wrestling star has trasitioned well to film. His best efforts so far have been The Gridiron Gang (a better take on the football formula) and Peter Berg's oddball action comedy The Rundown . In The Rundown , The Rock takes on a group of pygmy warriors. It's one of the funniest and most inspired American fight scenes in a long time.
In The Game Plan , Johnson proves game as he's made to learn ballet and supervise girls' tea parties. He also has a funny scene in which he tries to sweet talk the ballet teacher played by Roselyn Sanchez, and he flexes his pects as punctuation for his stale pick up lines. It's actually a funny bit. Sanchez proves a nice foil for him and Kyra Sedgewick turns in an unexpectedly silly performance as his ambitious agent. The one person who proves unbearable though is Madison Pettis as the daughter Peyton. She is the classic miniature adult child performer whose calculated cuteness and smart-alecky attitude grow quickly tiresome. Plus does she really have to be so stereotypically girlie? I mean some girls don't like pink, glitter or dolls. I know the formula requires a stark contrast between father and daughter but Peyton is such a cliche that it becomes annoying.
The Game Plan (rated PG for some mild thematic elements) is predictable family fare from Disney's live action department. It's dumb but you know exactly what you are getting into from the very beginning -- and actually the poster pretty much prepares you for what the film's all about -- so you only have yourself to blame if you watch this and feel ripped off. The bonus features on the disc add little. Marv Albert hosts a blooper reel from the film but none of the goofs proves very funny. But the end credit sing-a-long to Elvis'
Burning Love turns out to be the best thing in the movie.
Companion viewing:
Gridiron Gang, The Rundown, She's the Man, Three Men and a Cradle, North Dallas Forty
